Years back, I had an opportunity to work among a group of gill-netters on the northern British Columbia coast. On the fishing grounds, every boat used the same size net, fished the same general area, during the same regulated openings. In theory, everyone had an equal chance at catching fish. There were, however, one group of fishermen who outperformed all the others. From the village of Sointula on an island off the BC coast, these descendants of Finnish immigrants are unparalleled fishermen.

They had the same boats and nets, but rather than simply set their nets to soak, they would constantly adjust them, haul and re-set them, and work to herd the fish into them. Using the same equipment, they busied themselves and consistently outperformed the other local boats.

In the constantly-evolving internet marketplace, SEO and social media opportunities are constantly moving targets. It’s important not to simply let your website sit there and hope that some fish will eventually swim into it. You, or the webmaster you employ, should be willing and able to serve the role of constantly nudging that net and herding those fish.
Often, a constant, gentle, and progressive pressure can result in greater gains than a sporadic major changes. In Web 2.0, your effectiveness can be more a factor of your energy and activity than your size or power.

A blog (which is short for “web log”) is a website. The key difference is how the content of a blog is generated and managed.

A typical website is a collection of more-or-less static pages. Like a paper book; the pages are numbered and keyed to an index or table of contents, but the pages themselves just sit there once written. A website can contain a blog page within its structure.

A typical blog is a single long page that is constantly added to. Like the front page of a newspaper; the masthead and layout remain static, but the content of the columns is regularly changing, with new content being added in at the top, and older content being pushed off the bottom edge of the paper. A blog can contain static pages within its structure.

A typical website is created and published once. A typical blog is constantly being re-published with new content.

A typical website is created using off-line tools/software, then uploaded. A typical blog is written on-line using tools/software which have already been uploaded.

A typical static website can be broadly-likened to a billboard; it broadcasts a message to be consumed by whatever passerby it can attract. A typical blog can be broadly-likened to the front window in a coffee-shop; passersby are invited to enter and contribute to the conversation therein.

Depending on how you are placing your product or service in the web marketplace, one may be more effective than the other. However, the Web 2.0 model -which we at Playful Web fully embrace- is all about human interaction. A well-managed blog can really get people talking to one another about your business, fostering that increased word-of-mouth which is so key.

She’s had a few home-based businesses over the years, selling a variety of goods and services, from web-design to custom fabric-wares. As her interests have changed and re-focused, so too have her businesses, but she has maintained a strong connection with a customer base which she has fostered through consistent and concentrated web-presence.

Whether it’s childcare accessories, fashion items, or web-design, each marketing effort tends to share the following:

• Simple, clean, uncluttered visual design
• An accompanying webblog, twitter feed, facebook page, and unique email address for each marketing effort
• Consistent visual branding – this entry site, this blog, and this storefront all share a common banner graphic, despite being built on different platforms/services.
• Community-building – AP Mamas came out of Gillian’s passionate parenting beliefs, but has also channeled many potential customers towards her other websites
• Participation – Gillian is a huge consumer of other blogs, and avails herself of opportunities to capitalize on any potential exposure they might lend her. Her work has been featured by other notable bloggers, and her blog entries are frequently read and commented-upon by other bloggers

Effective Web 2.0 marketing campaigns have to approach customers through any and all available avenues. As long as the subjects are something that you’re actually passionate about, it doesn’t seem like work at all. Blogs and other promotional websites don’t need special “hooks” or techniques to draw in potential customers/clients; they just need consistent quality content and clearly-defined link-through to the final product.

Take at look at Gillian’s sites, and note how they all point to her most current effort:

• AP Mamas
• typealice design studios
• G-Slings
• Pip Robins

Here on the Playful Web blog, we’ll be trying to share and explain things from the simplest and most applicable point of view. Whether you’re coming to us from a web search or are one of our existing or prospective clients, we’re hoping that this will become one of your best resources and forums as you expand your business on-line!